Anyone been to Santa Ponsa (Mallorca) in October half term?

[YouChair]

As above. Seen a couple of good deals and wondering if anyone has first hand experience. Our half term is the 'early' week iyswim so would go about the 16th ish.

For context, we like warm rather than hot and were happy on the Costa Blanca this year in October. I know there's always some risk of rain in the Med at that time of year, and accept that. Short flight time is a bigger priority than reliability, so we don't fancy the Canaries or Turkey. If we don't go here, the alternative would be mainland Spain. Loved Mallorca when we went previously, but that was in May and on the east side.

Sea swimming is a big part of the attraction, and I read that although the land temperatures on the Costa Del Sol will be hotter than the Balearics or Costa Blanca that time of year, the water won't be. So basically a fairly bog standard beach holiday for people who like low 20s and would probably fancy a day out or two. Palma for me, some theme park for the DC.

It’s very nice for families. Been there a couple of times. Lots to do.

Family vibe is exactly what we're looking for, so that's encouraging- most of the people I can find online who've asked about the place in October were asking about the nightlife. What time of year do you go?

We went in October. The pool was too cold to swim in as unheated, but think we went in the sea.
Theres a bit of a “strip” with bars and it’s a bit tacky, but no need to go there in the evening with kids.
Nice shops and restaurants and easy to get bus to Palma.

Thanks, that's exactly the sort of info I was looking for!

The sea temperature will still be around 23–24 degrees in the second half of October. That's a couple of degrees warmer than the English Channel at Brighton in August, so sea swimming is definitely still possible. Santa Ponsa has a nice big deep beach and a couple of semi-secret smaller ones. As a PP mentioned it's more of a family place than some other towns in Majorca and there are not going to be too many stag parties.

You also have a great bus service (every 25 minutes) into Palma, which has lots to see and do on a less-nice day. The main "theme parks" are water parks, which will be cold, but there is a treetop adventure park on the edge of Santa Ponsa. The wooden train to Soller and a visit to some caves (Drach or Hams if you want touristy, Genova if you want a quiet visit and not to spend several hours on the transfer) are good excursions. Hams caves is also next to a park called Dinosaurland, which might or might be to your DCs' taste depending on their ages.

However, you might want to consider that UK October half term is the last week of the season in Majorca. If you arrive on Saturday 24th then half of the bars and restaurants that were open on that day will be closed by the end of the week.

Also, assuming that daylight savings time continues (there is talk of abolishing it and going to permanent summer time, but even if they do take that decision it probably won't be in time for 2026), the clocks will go back on the Saturday night/Sunday morning (25 October). At that point sunset will be just before 6pm and the sun will be pretty watery from 4pm onwards.

Thanks @samarrange. Definitely want to use that Palma bus. I'd never even heard of those caves, off to Google!

We get 2 weeks so would likely go about the 17th and be there in the penultimate week of October. I tend to book a pretty bare bones AI to cover all bases and supplement with a few meals out, so hopefully enough will be open to do that. But it's not essential, a week of AI food is fine provided I'm not having to cook it!

You've both persuaded me, I think!

We were in Majorca end of October and weather was pleasant enough but not sunbathing temps. It was warm in the mornings but the sun had dropped by about 2-3 . We found there were plenty of places open during the day but many closed early evening as it was too quiet to stay open after about 7pm.

The sea was cold - too cold for me to swim.

We had a great few days but it was more of a getting out and about trip than a beach holiday. Palma is definitely worth a day trip and the buses are good.

It’s also worth a trip to Soller on the train/tram if you get the time.

For anyone who's done both, how did it compare to the Costa Blanca at the same time? As that would probably be the other option.

Temp wise I mean.

The temperatures are going to be very similar. Costa Blanca might be a degree or two warmer on average, but at that time of the year it's a bit of a lottery. It will be lovely and warm in the day in both places.